Rank: Forum user 
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We have an employee who complained of tendonitis claiming it was caused by work. We undertook an interview and asked about hobbies outiside of work blah blah and why he believed his tendonitis was caused by work. Anyway we moved him to a job which he wanted to do and that he believes he is capable of undertaking against my judgement I hasten to add. Yesterday the same employee brings to us a doctors fit not stating that his current working conditions are aggravating his condition so we decide to send him home as we are unable to make reasonable adjustments for him. He then comes to work today with another doctors note stating that he feels he is capable of working in the job that was yesterday aggravating his condition. It appears we have a case of the tail wagging the dog here and that the doctor has written the fit note i.a.w. what the patient tells him. The contradiction in fit notes over a day has me concerned. My view is that he should be sent home until occupational health assess him and whilst we also undertake a risk assessment/manual handling assessment on were we have moved him. The fit note also states that he is ok to do lightduties and he should avoid heavy lifting which in a packing area I do not believe he can avoid.
My question is if the employee states that he can do the tasks as detailed on the fit note are we still at risk of breaching our duty of care ?
Thoughts please thanks in advance
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Rank: Super forum user 
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You're in control, and you should decide whether or not the person is fit to do the job they're paid to do (or an alternative job that they CAN do if one is available). The fit note these days doesn't carry the weight that the old fashioned "Doctors Note" used to have, and should only be considered as guidance at best (as you've discovered, many fit notes are simply verbatim statements made to the GP by the patient, and are not based upon a considered medical opinion). Tendinitis should heal in time, and perhaps the best time to re-assess the situation is when the individual reports to work fully fit (and not when they obviously aren't).
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 1 user thanked Elfin Davy 09 for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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In addition to Elfin Davy, not many GPs are Occupational Health qualified. Refer the injured party through your OH system for assessment.
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1 user thanked SNS for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Matelot- if you have an interanal OH provider or a contracted out one engae with them ASAP and before this chap does any more work that could potentailly cause a problem.
The earlier comments about Fit notes are spot on, they are often just a write up of the patients wishes. It may be that your chap is fine, it was a minor inflamtion and he just wants a change of job.
However tendonitis can be tricky, it will seem to improve with a change of activity, particularly if it was caused by a repetative action But is easy to trigger off if the area is overworked or used before the inflamation has fully healed. This can make the condition worse, so it is best to be cautious and get some expert advice.
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2 users thanked nic168 for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi Guys
Thanks very much for your replies. I think we are all singing off the same hymn sheet. The main point of learning for me in your replies is that the current fit note does not carry the same weight as the old doctors notes. The injured party is seeing our OH next week so will,await the outcome of that
Just for info. I am a tendonitis suffer which has not cleared up completely when I was first diagnosed in 2015 but has improved as a result of nort doing manual work anymore. one of the reasons why I gave up hands on engineering
Cheers
Derek Edited by user 07 December 2018 20:29:13(UTC)
| Reason: Additional info
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